The new Formula 1 season begins shortly-and Bernie Ecclestone is currently all about high-quality racing cars. However, the former boss of the premier class of motorsport has been less concerned with current models in the past few weeks, rather its unique private collection was in focus. He has now sold it.
As the “Daily Mail” reports, Bernie Ecclestone sold his multi -million dollar car collection. 69 old Formula 1 cars worth around 595 million euros now belong to Red Bull heir Mark Mateschitz.
“It means a lot to me to know that this collection is now in the very best hands. Mark is the best and most worthy owner we can imagine,” said Ecclestone.
It is not known how much the son of the late Red Bull founder Dietrich Mateschitz ultimately had to pay for the extraordinary collection. His assets are estimated by the “Forbes” specialist magazine to $ 39.4 billion.
Mateschitz Junior already has concrete plans with the cars. The “historically significant collection” will be kept “carefully, expanded over the years and made it accessible to the public in the near future,” announced the 32-year-old.
That is why Ecclestone sells its Formula 1 cars
Ecclestone is said to have started collecting the cars more than 50 years ago. These include Ferraris by Michael Schumacher and Niki Lauda.
Ecclestone now sold it primarily because of his wife Fabiana Flosi (48). “I’m 94 and with a little luck, maybe I have a few more years longer. Who knows? But I didn’t want to leave Fabi alone with the question of what to do with the cars when I’m no longer there,” said the Brit.
In the 70s, Ecclestone had started to market and internationalize Formula 1. He was the managing director of the premier class until 2017, and since then it has belonged to the American media company Liberty Media.